To Have Faith

Chapter 13 : First Steps On The Tardis

Gingerly, I step through the doorway behind the Doctor, keeping my eyes on his back. The low hums I could hear outside increasing.

Feeling a soft nudge in my mind, I Forget my surroundings for a second, concentrating inwards; Feeling something at the edge of my conciseness.

Like the Veshta Narada, but not like that at all.

So much better-So much more.

Brighter, like warm sunshine and a million stars all at once and larger too, everywhere around me yet focused just out of reach in front of the Doctor where I know the console is. Soft like silk and animal fur and everything nice and pleasant and, well, nice. Calming even.

Yes, nothing like the Vashta Nerada at all.

The Doctor twirls around to face me with a mad grin, hand still locked on mine. "Right! Welcome aboard the Tardis, Faith Hope McSweet."

I snap back to reality, eyes trailing up over his shoulder. My breath catching in my throat as I realize exactly where I am.

"Oh... she's beautiful." I breathe out. Taking her in while holding onto the railing for support. She is everything and nothing like the TV set.

The color and theme are exactly the same, but they couldn't capture how she has multiple levels down and another separate outer walkway around the edge behind the large coral tree-like supports. How those lower levels just keep going and going until they disappear out of view. Ladders and stairways leading farther down. there's also an upper level overhead going around the edge that I've never noticed. Was it even on the show?

The time rotor in the center console glows a light bluish green. Humming and vibrating and so so Alive. The whole place emanates warm light, illuminating everything around it from some unknown location. Maybe it's just the walls themselves that are glowing.

Wires hang from somewhere above like giant mechanical vines to coral trees. Oh, and there's hexagon things on the walls! Oh how I wish I could move my head fast without worsening my headache or having the threat of another nosebleed. It's just too much to take in all at once.

And that's not even going into all the buttons and gadgets the flight module has-or the gallifreyan writing on the computer screens-or the time rotor with all these small intricate clockwork-like pieces within the clear outer frame- and it's just, well, Huge! just all of it!! It's just so amazing! Too amazing for words! And it's wonderful and brilliant!

"So? What do you think?" The Doctor asks a prideful grin in his voice.

I'm too busy exploring with my eyes. Not willing to actually look at him for even a second. -Though I do register the circles his thumb is doing on the back of my hand. I'm ignoring that.

"She's beautiful, but beautiful isn't enough to describe her. I can't think of a word that can.... It's Like seeing a cathedral for the first time but... more"

I finally tear my eyes away back to him, seeing an appraising look on his face as he mumbles "haven't heard that one before." With a shrug.

Waiting a second more for me to continue, his eyebrows rise with a pout. "What? That's it? No 'it's bigger on the inside?'"

Oh.

I look back out the open door then back inside. "Oh. I forgot about that." I smile sheepishly.

"You forgot?!" He asks incredulously, "How can you possibly just forget that??" He turns to the other two who are doing a rather horrible job holding in their laughter. Him pointing at me, "how can she just forget?!"